Xandria
by Ronniesheep
Summary: Xandria, a homeless teenager from London, finds herself in NYC with Jem, Tessa and a host of other Shadowhunters. Little does she know that she isn't who she thinks she is, but only an infernal device.
1. Chapter 1

**Hello people of the internet! I'm back with another story! I have another story "Bunnee" if you are interested anyway I hope you like this story! Review please! DISCLAIMER: I DONT OWN THE INFERNAL DEVICES!**

The man's hand fell to the ground with a squishy thump and a cry of anguish.

"What the hell lady?! All I wanted to know was your price!" He screamed in a secluded alley in London.

"I'm not a prostitute! Get it through your rotten head!" I yelled back. What happened was that he made a move one me, and all who know me know that you don't mess with me. The man's partially skeletal hand was starting to create a river of blood. Not to mention that all of his body was either rotten flesh or bone. I trapped him up against a wall.

"Well with your looks..." he said suggestively and licked his lips with his gruesome slug of a tongue. The action earned him a punch in the head, knocking him unconscious. He fell to the ground in a heap, and when he did, he went from the most vile creature on earth to the most cherubic person in the universe, but I learned the hard way a long time ago that people like him are not to be judged on looks. As I walk away I put my switch blade in my pocket of my torn jeans only to be hit with a brick in the neck from behind. The world goes fuzzy and I find it hard to focus on one thought. _Run!_ _Fight! What the heck? How did he recover so fast? _Are a few thoughts spinning around my head at light speed, which in of itself almost make me pass out. I blindly run in any direction and for some unknown reason I notice a hauntingly beautiful sound coming from Blackfriars Bridge nearby. I hit a wall. Things are starting to come back into focus but I still am mostly blind. I try running to the left and right. No luck. I'm trapped and at a distinct disadvantage. I hear footsteps running toward me and I brace myself for impact but no such impact comes. All I heard is a grunt and the dull thud of a body hitting the ground. I scratch my warm and itchy neck and my vision has recovered enough for me to see that my hands are covered in blood, in fact I can feel that my entire back is covered. I feel the ground come up to meet my head which doesn't make the situation any better. Footstep are yet again pounding to me, now as hollow and echoy as the sound of my pulse in my head. An unintelligible voice speaks indistinct words to me before I let go to the blackness of my head.


	2. Jem and Tessa

The first sensation I feel since falling is that of a splitting headache. I open my eyes and I feel as if I'm tearing stitches that were holding my eyelids shut. I observe my surroundings and I notice that I'm in a modest room with a clear view of Blackfriar's bridge. I'm sitting in a queen sized bed, a pleasure I haven't had since I was very young. After all of this... normalcy flooded my senses I try to get out of bed, only to be stopped by the restraints that I failed to notice. I feel a scream rising in my throat like a bubble ready to break the surface of water. Then I hear a knock at the door which for a moment distracts me from my distress. A young woman, not much older than I, walks in the door with a pair of scissors. She walks up to me and asks in a quiet, kind voice, "Promise not to hurt us." I nod my head cautiously and she proceeds cut my restraints. As soon as I'm free I reach for my blade in my pocket and I draw it out and press it on her throat enough to nick her to show that I'm not kidding. "What do you want with me?" I demand in a hard voice that I use with the scum of the earth. Not at all as frightened sounding as I actually am. "Nothing. Jem saw you in distress and he came to your aid." Then something occurred to me, she speaks oddly, like she's from a different time period, as the Scummy Skeletal man did. I press harder on her throat.  
"I know how you people are, you lie. Then there is hell to pay if I trust you." I tried trusting a creature such as this and it killed my parents, and their unborn child. Before I can stop it a single tear makes its way down my cheek. My hand shakes for a moment and suddenly my knife is in her hand. "My name is Tessa. I'm not going to hurt you." she reassures me. Just then a man, young but old in his eyes walks into the room.

"I'm James, Jem if you will. How are you feeling?" he says wearily. I remain silent.

"Ok then, but I'm fairly sure that had I not found you, you would either be in a coma or dead."

"Jem, she doesn't know anything about... you know and I'm fairly sure that she's a mundane, we should consult one of the clave."

"Technically I haven't expressed my wishes to cede from the clave to them yet so I'm still a shadowhunter." Jem says with a grin.

"Talk to Jocelyn Fairchild or the Lightwoods, they've dealt with a situation such as this before."

My head is spinning with questions. I am forced to fall back onto the bed and immediately Tessa and Jem's conversation breaks off and they rush to me.

"Are you all right?" says Jem. When I look up at him I notice something. Jem is beautiful. But he seems like he bears a burden, a heavy one at that.

"I'm fine." I say shortly, "Just tell me what the hell happened. Or I swear I'll gut you people."

"No need for violence." Tessa speaks up, "Jem was playing his violin on Blackfriars bridge and he just so happened to look to the alley you were in. He saw a faerie chasing after you rabidly so he came to your aid."

"What is a faerie?" I ask.

Then Tessa pulls Jem aside and whispers to him.

"What? How is that even to be thought of?" Jem then exclaims.

Tessa turns to me and asks me a simple question, "what did the man look like?"

I answer with, "He had rotten flesh and bones but when he fell, he looked almost angelic. I call people like him the Angelic Dead."

"People like him are Faeries. Tell me, have you heard of vampires, werewolves, warlocks?" Jem asks.

"No. I have no idea what they are."

"How could you see them but not know what they are?" Jem asks truly curious.

"I don't know? I've been alone for as long as I can remember. No one talked or messed with me and I reciprocated that action. So I guess no one could tell me?"

"Have you heard of Shadowhunters?"

"No idea, but there was talk of Nephillum among the creeps."

"The Nephillum are shadowhunters."

"ohhh you guys aren't well liked then. So what'cha gonna do with me, stab me with on of you fancy _Seraph _blades?" I say with as much venom as I can muster up. But Jem and Tessa remain calm and Tessa replies, "We are going to take you to the New York City Institute were we will resolve this, and maybe you will learn that the Shadowhunters aren't only arrogant and stabby, for lack of a better word, people."


	3. Jem's First Flight

**Hey Sheep here, I hope your are enjoying the story. This chapter is going over mostly Xandria's past, please feel free to express your opinion on this story, constructive criticism, positive and negative comments welcome. ENJOY! **

As we entered the airport, Jem seemed kind of antsey. Tessa was trying to calm him down as we were walking, and though it is working it still looks like Jem may faint. I finally am able to catch Tessa away from Jem and I ask, "Why is James acting so weird."

"Don't think it is without reason. You see, Jem has never been on a plane."

"How is that possible, someone of this day and age?"

"That is were it gets... complicated-" Jem then walks up, our food in hand.

"Where's your food?" I ask. James suddenly seems uncomfortable.

"Uhh, old habits?" He answers hesitantly.

Then he flinches when to PA crackles to life for the drab voice to say, "Flight A12 for New York City is now boarding, Flight A12 for New York City is now boarding, thank you."

Jem slowly gets more anxious as we approach the gate at a snails pace. I hand James a piece of gum, you might want to chew on this during the flight. James then takes the piece and then looks at it like its an alien life form.

"You chew on it, don't swallow, I think its peppermint. It helps with ear popping because of the change of pressure in the air." I explain.

We board the plane and take our seats, I got the window seat, James sat beside me with Tessa on the aisle. I feel Jem, I mean James, tense as the plane takes of but then he relaxes when we are in the air. The next day on the plane Tessa falls asleep again relatively quickly but James remains attentive. I decide to start some conversation.

"So James-"

"Please don't call me that."

"Did you have a eating disorder?" I ask innocently enough.

James suppresses a hearty laugh, "By the angel, No!"

"Then what did you mean by 'Old habits'?"

"Oh geez umm this is a tough topic I would prefer not to bring up at this time."

"Oh ok, I'm sorry. Anyway, could you tell me who will be in New York?"

"Yes I can. There is Joceyln Fairchild, the mother of Clary Fairchild or Fray. Jace..." he wince as if something is paining him, "Wayland. His parabatai, Alec and Alec's sister Isabelle. There are others but they are not of the shadowhunter race and I would be best for you to meet them and gain your own opinion, I am a bit old fashioned."

"What is a parabatai?" I inquire.

"When two people are parabatai, they are closer than brothers. They are, in a sense, one person. If one is hurt the other feels his or her pain." As he's saying this he is rubbing a pale marking on his flesh.

"And if one dies?"

"The other feels as if he's lost a part of him. I would know. I used to have one."

I should probably drop the topic.

"Anyway, do I even know your name?" Jem genuinely asks.

"Xandria. My mother I guess had a knack for odd names she was going to name her baby boy when he was born Ephraim." I laugh a breathy, weak laugh. "Both my parents were killed when I was five."

"My condolences. I know how you feel, my parents were killed as well." A deep sadness enters his eyes.

"You seem intellegent. Have you gone to school?"

"No, I have learned everything I know from Crazy Earl, who is actually a very bright man with a masters degree in just about everything."

"So ever since your parents have died, you've had no one but Crazy Earl and the Street?"

"Well, I've done certain things that are most likely considered illegal to stay alive."

"Drugs?" He said after a distinct pause.

"Only when things got really bad. And by really bad I mean I can't afford to buy penny candy."

"Anything else?" I feel him tense.

"I never used if thats what you want. But I did consider one time something else. Things were horrible then. I considered what that 'faerie' was after me for."

"I do not judge you. You did what you had to."

Just then the voice of the pilot came over the speakers, "5 minutes to landing."

James whispers to me then, "Welcome to the states."


	4. Welcome to the Institute

**They get to the institute. Hooray. Please people feel free to comment Plot ideas, feedback and questions. I want to make this story to its full potential.**

As we arrive to the New York City institute, my mind just explodes. The institute has the beauty of a church and the grandeur of a castle. The taxi comes to a stop at the front steps. I gape toward Tessa, she only chuckles and nods. We exit the car and as James and Tessa get their luggage I suddenly remember that I look like, well... me. My only shirt, a 5 year old tee I brought off another homeless teen for a dollar. Then there is my jeans that are more holes than fabric below my knee, and any fabric on my body, including my converse are mostly brown with miscellaneous types of grime. I imagine that my face is cut up from the fight and most likely just as grimy as my shirt. We begin to approach the door, and I begin to feel my heart rate increase. I think I'll be staying here for awhile, the first time since I was five that I would have a place to call home. I swear my eyes bulge a little when I notice how massive the doors are. Then they open an we go inside. We are met by two teenage guys. One blonde, one a dark brunette.

"Brother Zachariah." They both nod in respect for James.

"But-" I try to them that his name is Jem, only to be cut off by him saying, "Just call me Jem, if you please."

"You must be... Zania? Xand- Xand-" the brunette says.

"Xandria." I say quietly, with my head down.

"Well I'm Alec Lightwood and this is-"

"Jace...Herondale." The blonde pipes up. When I hear their full names I look up with wide eyes.

"You guys. Are... I've heard things." I try to speak between my shallow breaths of fear. I want nothing to do with these people. I've heard gossip from the so called "Downworlders" that they do ugly stuff to people. They slaughtered many faeries and others for the sport of it, or so I've heard. They take a step toward me when I stagger backwards into James.

"Get away from me." I say in a stern voice.

Then two hands grab my shoulders gently but firmly.

"Don't worry, they aren't going to hurt you." Je- James says in my ear.

"B-but they said they killed many so mercilessly." I say breathlessly.

"Which was an over exaggeration. Let them explain it to you in their own time."

I calm down but I don't say anything and I then look at the floor.

"So what happened to you?" Jace says smugly at me. I don't know when I made the movement but one moment, I was standing by James and the next, I was sprinting toward Jace, who obviously didn't think I would react this way, for if he did I would be on the ground. Turns out, getting punched in the mouth will shut even Jace Herondale up.

"By the angel Woman! Was that really necessary?" He yelled with a hand near his mouth.

"Yes it was Jace. It really was." Says Alec with a chuckle.

"By the way dickhead, I have lived alone, without a home on the streets of London since my parents died." I say with as much venom in my voice as possible. With that, Jace did something I never would've expected him to do, "I apologize." he says solemnly. I remain silent.

"I'll show you where your room is." speaks up Alec. He walks forward gesturing for me to follow. We walk silently throughout the corridors of the Institutel. Alec with his hands stiffly at his sides and my head down.

"How old are you?" Alec asks. I remain silent.

"Ok not very conversational. I guess I'll just tell you that we aren't cold blooded killers of downworlders" He says. "Clary's, you'll meet her later, psychotic brother wanted to turn this world into a wasteland and some downworlders out of fear joined him. The faeries did not do it out of fear unfortunately so we had to fight them. I hope this clears it up for you." Alec says bitterly. "I apologize for Jace's inappropriate behavior."

Then I say the first thing to Alec, "Its okay I get that kind of stuff all the time. I'm 15."

"By the Angel! You have the muscle mass of Isabelle."

"Who is Isabelle?" I ask. Just then a fairly tall muscular girl storms in, no doubt Alec's sister.

"I swear to god if I didn't like Simon so much I'd kill him!" Her expression softens when she sees me. "Newbie? A girl one too! You look 18. Are you 18? _Please _tell me you're 18."

"Isabelle, slow down, she's had a rough go, and shes 15."

"Fifteen?!" Isabelle yells. "Damn it. I thought that maybe I would have another girl to hang with."

"We actually don't know for sure if she is a shadowhunter.

I shift my arm in my sling which causes a bit of my left hand to show.

"Wait, Alec. Her hand."

The siblings walk toward me and grab my left (dominant) hand. They pretty much ogle at the odd almost eye shaped tattoo that my father insisted I have.

"Welllll that answers the question most definitely."


	5. A Disturbing Discovery

**Hey friends! This is a fairly BIG chapter in the way of plot twists. So please tell me what you think**

Everyone currently in the institute and others came to the center of the Institute. There were Downworlders along with Shadowhunters, Lucian Graymark, and Magnus Bane are two to name.

"So I am a Shadowhunter?" I ask no one in particular.

"Yes given that you are bearing a mark. If you weren't a Shadowhunter, you wouldn't be you know, human." says Jace.

"Do you know anything about your family?" asks Mayrse Lightwood, the head of the Institute.

"Not much that I can remember. All I know is that they were worriers over me, as if I may explode spontaneously." I answer.

"So you have no idea as to which family you belong to." Mayrse concluded, "Anyway we believe you to be a Shadowhunter, which means that you need training. Jace and Isabelle will help you because of a lack of professional trainers."

The meeting was adjourned and by the end we had decided that I would start physical training tomorrow and tonight Clary Morgenstern, Fray, Fairchild, or whatever other last name she has, will help me with runes. I decide to go to the training room just to let some anger out in the form of sharp blades and dangerous stunts. I see a rack full of daggers, swords and bows. I go for the throwing knives. I'm whaling the knifes at the target with all my might, thinking of what Jace had said to me, everyone's judgemental looks and I hardly notice Jem coming in. Out of habit when I hear the scuffle of feet behind me, I turn around with my knife ready for attack.

"Oh sorry, Jame-Jem. Why are you here?"

"To help you with knife throwing and to tell you why I insist on being called Jem. I'm sorry for being so short with you about that." Jem says apologetically.

"So James?"

"Ok, there was one person who ever called me James and that would be my late parabatai. It just that every time someone calls me James I think of him." He explains. "On to knives, you must throw them with a calm mood, never angry. Try that."

I have no idea how that is supposed to work but I try anyway, I think of the most calm I've been, and I let loose the knife. I hear a thump and I look to see that I've hit the exact center of the target. I turn around to thank Jem but he's gone.

The next day I head to training with Jace and Isabelle. We start off with running, a lot of it. I hold up pretty well. Balance exercises now, you know 30 feet in the air. I have a harness but it doesn't look like its in the best shape, I guess Shadowhunters don't fall that often. I'm up in the rafters walking the course the two teens gave me and I just so happen to find a broken beam. Unfortunately I don't see it until it collapses underneath me. I fall for a second am caught by the harness and then something else snaps, the harness. I'm falling for what seems like an eternity and I hit the ground hard on my side.

"Are you ok?" blurred voices say, but eventually everything clears up.

"Yeah, but I think my arm got cut by a knife."

They take a look at my arm and just gape.

"Whats wrong?" I ask.

"Uhhhhhh you need to see someone, now." Jace says nervously.

They show me that the gash in my arm spread apart and underneath a very thick layer of flesh, there is a glint of metal gears and cogs moving in different directions when I move my arm.

"What the Hell?" Is a that I can say.


	6. The Suckiest Day

**Hello please enjoy!**

"Wait, so what's happening?" I ask Jace, who is, for the first time since I've known him, is as serious as a friggen pandemic.

"I'm taking you to Broth- Jem and Tessa to inquire as to what going on. So I really have no idea as to whats going on with you." he answers.

When we find Jem and Tessa, Jace shows them my arm and I swear that if eyes could pop all the way out of their sockets, then Jem and Tessa would probably have shot their eyeballs across the room.

"It could be a highly complicated prosthetic arm." Jem says, but it sounds like he was trying to console himself, as opposed to stating a possibility.

"Hey, Jem you know its not possible... stop thinking that way." Tessa says as she rubs Jem's shoulders in a motherly way.

"You're right, its probably just a mechanical arm..." Jem says in a daze.

"Wait I'm confused." I speak up.

"How about you go somewhere else, we must discus this extremely odd...situation with Tessa and Broth- Jem." Maryse says.

I don't like the idea but I know how these people react to defiance so I leave. Alec is waiting for me.

"What has them in a fit?" he asks.

"I am." As I says this the weight of what was discovered in my arm hit me like a freight train. I collapse against the wall and I hug my knees. Yet again I'm weird. I'll be alienated again. I hold my arm out, unwrap the gauze (they could've drawn an itraze but they wanted to leave it for the silent brothers to examine) and I show the wound to Alec.

"So? Its a large cut."

I then do one of the most painful things I've ever done. I spread the skin apart and stifle a scream. I hear his gasp of surprise and I know he's seen it.

"D-do you know how long?" Alec stutters.

"I know absolutely nothing." I reply

Our conversation ends there, and I fall asleep against the wall. I wake when I hear the large oak doors open. I look down and I see that I forgot to rewrap my wound and I have been leaking blood all over the floor.

"Damn, I'm sorry." I say in a half asleep state.

"Its fine, lets get you rewrapped before you bleed out." says a cool voice. I can tell I've lost a lot of blood because I have issues seeing and feeling not to mention thinking. But I do feel skilled hands brush my forearm. I remember my mother said that my father had "musicians hands". These were the same way, gentle but strong in a way. When the hands are finished I say in an almost drugged out way, "Your hands are... a musicians. Its amazing that hands can make something as amazing as music, isn't it?"

"Yes it is, now lets get you to bed so the Silent Brothers can examine you."

Then there is nothing.

I wake up to the smell of burning flesh and a stinging sensation in my arm. I open my eyes to a face so gruesome I couldn't help screaming and lashing out at it.

"Shhhh, Xandria, this is Brother Enoch, a silent brother." says Clary.

That doesn't ease my terror. _There isn't anything to fear. _I hear a voice in my head say, which, of course, makes me flinch.

"We need to organize a meeting, Brother Enoch has some really important information to tell us."

The meeting had everyone in the library, the lightwoods, Fairchilds, Jem, Jace, Tessa, Magnus Bane (I was told he is a bit... eccentric), and Luke Garroway. I decide to listen in on some conversations to get my mind off of what may or may not be said.

"Nice to see you so well James. Your hair looks better when it isn't silver." Magnus says to Jem.

"Yes Magnus it has been awhile." He responds.

I then hear Joceylin Fairchild speaking to Luke.

"What do you think is going on?" She inquires with a worried voice.

"I have no idea Joceyln." Luke says, obviously somewhere else.

Now I listen in on Jace and Clary's conversation. They are in the corner holding hands.

"She's like you." Jace says.

"I don't recall her being short and a red head do you?"

"No not physically, but she comes into the institute and sends it all into chaos."

"Oh I get it now, so-" Clary is interrupted by the sound of Maryse's voice echoing around the room and everyone falls silent.

"The Silent Brothers have found information in regards to Miss-" Maryse looks at me.

"I'm not sure what my last name is, but someone has referred to me as Xandria Mortmain." I answer. I see Tessa fall back and catch herself.

"Miss Mortmain." Maryse continues, "I know you all have heard about the...discovery we made when Miss Mortmain's arm got sliced." She says very seriously.

"The silent brothers have examined her and they descovered that, she is not a shadowhunter." she continues.

"Xandria Mortmain, in fact, is not alive at all." Maryse says while looking straight at me.

"How is that even possible? I've been alive for 17 years, I don't recall dying."

"You are an automaton or a robot, if you will. Underneath your flesh you are only metal. You have no heart or internal organs."

"That doesn't make sense! Then how do I have skin?"

Maryse looks as if she's going to throw up. "The skin you have now was... taken from a shadowhunter. I don't know how it appears to be yours, how it isn't dead."

I fall forward and my knees catch me as I hit the floor. I can't do anything but wretch, I feel my eyes water. Then my legs, as if controlled by an exterior force, carried me out the door, through the institute and out into the cold night air.

**Important: I will not post another chapter until I get at least 2 reviews. I need to know how I'm doing.**


	7. Simon

**Hey its been awhile! Please review!**

I've been walking around the city for hours now, trying to distract myself. I went to central park, the Empire State Building, the M&amp;M shop (couldn't buy anything of course) and some place called java jones. I was able to get a coffee complements of a pervert who thought that a coffee would get me home with him. The coffee was delicious, I was so infatuated with the taste I didn't notice the tears silently creeping down my dirty face. I feel someone tap my shoulder and I turn to see a guy around the same age as Alec and Jace. He was skinny but muscular, much like Jace. He had brown hair and a "Made in Brooklyn" T-shirt. "You alright?" he asks me.

I just stare at him and shy away.

"What makes it your business?" I jab at him.

"That is a very good question, that I will answer." He says akwardly. "My name is Simon Lewis I am 17 years old and I ascended 3 days ago."

"Say what?" I say loudly.

"Ascension is the process of making a mundane into a shadowhunter."

I groan at his words. "You're with them too?"

"Yessiry and "they" told me that they are looking for a distressed automaton. Are you the Automaton cause you don't look like one to me."

I let a small smile slip out then that moment of happiness gets negated by the fact that I am a hunk of metal to them. "Look don't think that I'll go with you willingly," I raise my arm, "I've broken many'a'face with this baby" I say the second part slightly less serious.

Simon laughs this extraordinarily loud and screeching laugh. Delightfully humiliating if you understand. I look down.

"Look, Xandria," I give myself whiplash looking at him. Simon's the first person to say my name without question in his voice, "I know that everyone is saying that you aren't human. Physically you aren't but yeahh." He awkwardly scratches the back of his head. "But in my experience in the field of the extraordinary," He makes this back and forth gesture between him and I which is done in such a way it makes me chuckle, "Humanity is not just a physical thing. Humanity is how someone acts, feels and thinks. If you were a mindless robot I would have no argument in the case of how human you truly are." He's saying this with such passion and intensity I have no choice but to listen quietly. "But you, Xandria, feel, you have emotion and not the creepy pre-programmed stuff. You are you Xandria, and no matter what you are, you will always be human. To me at least."

When Simon is finished I can feel myself breaking down.

"I have to go." I mumble and high tail it out of Java Jones. I find that it is downpouring not only rain but hail as well. I run into an alley and I just start bawling, not out of purely sadness but a strange mixture of sheer happiness and saddness. I hardly hear Simon enter the alley. I don't bother wiping my eyes clear, for they will only fill again in a couple seconds. I don't know when I decided to do this but I run up to Simon and give him a hug and I whisper in his ear, "Thank you." It was short but it was enough for me to feel Simon relax. I have a feeling that he thought he did something wrong when, in fact he did something exactly the opposite.

"Come on you, lets get you home."

**Again, please review. Your opinion is important to me.**


	8. In Dreams

**Hey guys, as you may have noticed I took down the original chapter eight and put this (decidedly better) one up instead. I hope you enjoy, if you have any suggestions or praise or negatives, please leave some comments!**

The walk back is slow, despite the fact that its only a few blocks, and tiring. With every step I cant help but imagine little cogs and levers in my legs moving to account for my movement. Step, Spin, whirrr, click and repeat. I feel with every step as if my joints are rusting, creaking and rubbing uncomfortably. Surely this is all in my mind, but once you learn something as grave as your entire _being _is a lie, you are effected by it. And truth be told, I'm terrified as to what awaits me back at the institute. They will declare me an abomination and kick me as I walk in the door. I'm despicable. A power crazy man's machine. I'm not even accounting for the fact that my skin isn't even _mine. _ I'm honestly trying to forget that. in my concentration I stumble, only to be caught by Simon.

"You all right?"

"Yeah, just having an existential crisis." I reply.

"Oh, I'm like an expert on those. I've had several. When I first learned about the Shadow World, became a vampire, stopped becoming a vampire and forgot everything, when Magnus and Isabelle re-told me about the shadow world... and so forth."

"And I thought mine was bad." I look down, my problems are miniscule compared to Simon's, hell, he can't even remember several years of his life.

We finish the journey in silence, me imagining the creak of my metal joints all the way back.

Simon and I walk in to Jace. Great, just what I needed.

"I see you found our tin friend, eh Simon?"

"Looks like you looked very hard." Simon spits back.

"Hey, I tried, but my methods only work on the _living._" Jace says with as much vemon as he can muster.

I just walk away, too tired for a fight, and do not doubt that I wanted one. I walk down the long, dark corridor, searching fruitlessly for my room. Eventually I just give up, sleeping on the hard floor is all I deserve. I make myself as comfortable as you could on a stone floor, in the corner and slowly drift to a dreamless sleep...

From which I'm awoken by a gentle nudge. I immediatly sit up, expecting a knife to my throat, but I'm met with a gentle hand on my shoulder, steadying me.

"Why are you out here?" Jem asks.

"I couldn't find my room. I'm sory if I disturbed you" I start to stand.

"You've done anything but. I couldn't sleep so I was out roaming the halls and I saw you."

"Thanks Jem. But honestly I just want to be left alone." I say as kindly as I can.

"If that is what you want, just know, despite everyone's reaction to your... condition, you aren't alone." He says and walks away.

I drift off to sleep again, except I'm met with a dream this time.

_ I see a man in the distance, walking toward me. As he get closer I notice he is about the same age as Jem, maybe a little older, with black hair and crystal blue eyes. He continues walking towards me and I feel as if I know him. I want to yell to him, ask him who he is, but I can't speak. All of a sudden he seems to glitch to six feet in front of me. _

_"Hello Xandria." he says. I, of course, remain silent._

_"You've got a hell of a lot of...well... hell coming for you, and you need to be ready. Whether it be the clave, Mortmain or even what seems to be yourself, you need to be ready." despite the serious tone, I see the left corner of his mouth tip up. _

_"Besides you have one of the best souls around. Well one of them is at least." he poses with his fist under his chin, looking like a knight boasting over a beast he's killed. _

_"Its time for you to wake up now, but I'll have you know that all your questions will be answered in time." He turns to walk away and in an after thought says "Give James and Tes my love." _

_before he turns again, I mouth "Who are you?"_

_"The name's William Herondale." then he walks away, into the dark._

**I'm not sure when I can update next but I hope this tides you over, hope you continue reading this in the future,**

**Sheep**


	9. Regarding Will Herondale

**Hello, it sheep, I'm asking please tell me what you think, it would make me very happy.**

I wake up cold and sore. Not shocking given that I slept on the floor all night. But after the dream I had, the questions are racing through my head, the first of which being "Who the hell is William Herondale?" I mean I know he wasn't of this time, given the clothes he was wearing and the way he spoke, but I know little else. I walk around, frantically looking for my room, so I can draw his face before I forget it. After what seems like ages of wandering the identical halls, I find it, burst in the door and scramble for some paper and a pen. I sketch for at least two hours, being sure to add as much detail to it as possible, until I have an exact likeness of the man in my dream. Black hair, blue eyes, and sculpted features. In fact, he looks a lot like Alec. I decide to ask him if this William was a relative of his but as I'm walking out I hear a voice in my head saying not to ask Alec.

_It would be better if no one knew of my existence._ I hear him say.

"You literally said to tell Tessa and Jem you said hi." I reply to seemingly no one.

_You can't blame me for being excited, I've be trying to unlock my self for a century or so!_

"Jesus. You are a contradictory bastard of a mind-voice aren't you."

_I don't claim not to be._

"Xandria?" Someone says as they walk in the room.

"Shall I avert my eyes?" he says, an asian man with some uhh, creative clothes and is that...body glitter?

"No? Who are you?" I reply.

"The names Magnus Bane and finding out what you are is my game." I seenhim wince at his choice of words.

"You were sent by the clave?" I ask.

"Indeed. They seem to think that I'm on call or something. But from what I've heard, you are quite the anomaly."

"If you call being a robot an anomaly then yes."

I notice something change about him, his eyes narrow staring straight at the portrait I just drew.

"It is not often I forget a face Ms. Mortmain. Do you realize this?" he asks in a harsh tone.

"and that Jem Carstairs and Tessa Gray are dear friends of mine?"

"Well yeah, I guess." I reply, beginning to tremble.

"And that you are indeed an abomination?"

I remain silent. Suddenly, Bane springs at me an pins me against a wall and yells,

"THEN PLEASE TELL ME WHY THERE IS A DRAWING OF WILLIAM HERONDALE ON YOUR DESK?!"

His hand is raised, conjuring sparks inches from my face.

"I don't know!"

"Are you here to kill Tessa and Jem? Me?!" he continues to yell.

I begin to break down, sinking to the floor, repeating "I don't know" over and over. Until something changes, I'm not me anymore. I don't create my actions someone else does, and I'm watching from the outside.

I say, "Leave the girl alone Magnus. She's not here to kill any of us."

I see Magnus let up, "What?"

"Leave the girl alone, it is absolutely clear she isn't going to kill you."

"If this is a trick..." Magnus says.

"Nope! Not a trick, this is Will Herondale in the not-so-much-his flesh. And for the record you lying bastard, I know that you kissed me, I hoped you enjoyed it."

"What the hell?" Are all the words Magnus Bane can get out.

"Hmm. Forgot about the fact that I'm dead, might be a bit shocking for people."

"How am I going to tell Tessa?"

"You aren't. She can never know." Will/I say back.

"My soul was captured after I died, some mark someone put on me just before. I was sent into this hunk of metal to rot and became a piece of her manufactured personality along with many other shadowhunters, no offense Xandria"

_None taken_ I reply.

"Only now did I break out of the cage I was in, and I'm going to try to get all the way out. But in the meantime, I'm going to help Xandria escape the shit show she's in."

"Oh."

"I'm going to give Xandria back the wheel now."

Suddenly I'm back. I immediately move my arm just to make sure.

"Please leave." I command Magnus.

He nods with his eyes wide and the carefully eases out of the room.

As soon as he leaves I scream and punch a hole in the wall.

_They won't be happy about that._

"GO AWAY!" I scream.

Suddenly the room is small, I can't breath. I rush out the door, trying to find my way outside, my vision blurring and lungs burning. I'm crashing into walls, cracking stones. Then, I run into something with a bit more give, I try pushing through it but it replies with, "Running out of oil?" Of course its jace. I bury my head in the crook of his shoulder, trying to push through him, but to no avail. I look up at him, eyes blurry with tears.

_You are reaaally handling this like a champ._ Will says.

I begin to pound on Jace's chest,

"He won't go away, he won't I don't know what to do, he's in my head, LET ME GO."

It's hard to tell whether I'm screaming or whispering but I notice a change in Jace's face. He picks me up, making it even harder to breathe, and then I just go limp, my brain numb, and I lose consciousness.

_ I'm in a park. Alone on a bench, enjoying the peace and quiet. Until, of course, William Herondale comes back. I immediately flinch and jump away from him._

"_Now that is what I call an existential crisis.__"__ he says._

"_Can you blame me?! I just found out that other people's souls are inside me, on top of the fact that I'M A ROBOT.__"_

"_I'll give you that. But you need to get it out of your system, NOW. You've got a load of shit coming your way.__"__ he says._

"_You see, you keep saying that without explaining what I need to be ready for.__"__ I say with increasing frustration._

"_The Clave knows exactly what you are, and even before now.__"__ I'm shaking at this point as he continues_

"_How is that possible when even I didn't know?__"__ I ask._

_ Will pauses for a moment, carefully breathing in preparation, but I couldn't be prepare for what he was about to say:_

"_Because the Clave created you.__"_

**Please, please please tell me what you guys think, good bad or indifferent all reviews will be greatly appreciated.**


	10. A Shocking Realization

**Sorry its a really short chapter but there is a lot of explaining. Please review!**

_What?!"I all but scream, "How is that possible? They consider me an abomination!"_

"_It makes perfect sense, Xandria. I can tell you, because I was there for all of it." answers Will, "You were a project, an experiment."_

"_Why? I just don't understand. You are a shadowhunter and you were deprived of you know...death?! Why would they do that to a "brother"?"_

"_The clave is strange, but I think they wanted to make a 'super weapon'. After seeing what Mortmain did with the demon souls, the Clave began to wonder if they could do it with Shadowhunter souls, make shadowhunters essentially immortal." _

_The park begins to shake, "So I'm a failed experiment?!" I feel anger bubbling up inside me._

"_Not failed. You were very good at your job, however you developed the concept of 'free will' and escaped. In other words, they lost you." Will says._

"_They controlled me, made me do their work and erased my memories?"_

_Buildings around us are starting to crumble as I get angrier._

"_You are programmed to reset every few years, your last one was seven years ago. They give you preset false memories of your childhood."_

"_Why would they do that?"_

"_Keep you suggestible, like inserting a clave member as a friend or family member."_

"_And now that they've found me?" I ask, afraid of the answer._

"_You will be reset entirely, I will be kept in a nice little jar on a shelf, miserable of course. And you will be a slave again."_

"_I have to leave." I say as it dawns on me._

"_I and all the other souls within you agree. Leave tomorrow, get food, clothes and money, but only what you need."_

I wake up with a start. I'm in a bed, with a seriously stiff neck. The light in the room is blinding me, as if I haven't seen light in days.

_How long was I out? _I ask myself.

_Ehh, about four days, we had a long complicated conversation. Now get going. _Will replies unexpectedly.

I go to get out of bed to hit a hand, firmly locking me in place. I begin to panic, thinking the Clave has already found me, but in reality its Jace.

"So who wouldn't go away?" he asks, and he actually seems sincere.

"No one, maybe it was you?" I say in a chilling voice, "Now let me up."

"Not until you answer."

"Mickey Mouse, that bastard is really annoying."

_Just tell him. You make my head want to explode._

Jace gives me a strange look as I react to what Will said.

"William Herondale." I say quickly.

"Don't lie to me, Will Herondale is long dead."

"Will?" I plea with Will to prove it. He doesn't come.

"Do you know the story of the Infernal Devices?" I ask.

"Yeah, its basically a truthful legend."

"I'm on of those. And they run on souls, I just so happen to be the accumulation of several, one of which being Will Herondale."

The pattern of conversation goes like the first one with Will, him denying and me explaining. But eventually we get on the same page.

"So the clave is hunting you? And you need to leave?"

"Yes, so if you would let me go?" I ask.

"yeah sure, If you need anything, let me know."

I run to my room grabbing what few clothes I have and all the cash I have, shove them in a back pack and head downstairs. In the kitchen I grab all the canned food I can, and packs of chips, generally things that will last. I grab my coat and say my final goodbye to the Institute and... I run straight into Tessa.

"Is Will really in there?" she asks with tears in her eyes.

"Yeah, he says...hi?"


	11. The Gas Station Bathroom

I hastily push past Tessa, not giving her time to respond. Frankly, I'd say that reuniting with her dead husband can be postponed until _after _I'm safe. I fly, the halls becoming a blur. The faster I get out of here the better, I can only hope that the Clave doesn't already have me on lockdown. I finally find the main stairway, and I'm almost relieved when I jump down it...until I see two enclave members posted at the door. I back up the stairs, watching them for unusual activity, however I find nothing out of the ordinary. I realize that since the ground floor is crawling with enclave, I must climb or jump from another level. I go to the third floor (which has no current residents) and I find a reasonable window to jump out of. I almost think its a shame when I smash my elbow through the beautiful stained glass and climb onto the sill.

_Are you absolutely sure about this? My skin is on the line too._

"Yeah, I mean I'm a hunk of metal, hell, I'm Iron Woman"

_Whatever you say._

I take a deep breath. I slide off the ledge and I'm falling, however, I'm not there for impact with the ground.

I come to in an admittedly extra disgusting bathroom, probably a gas station. I begin to panic, and looking for an explanation from Will, I smack my head a few times with my palm. Unfortunately, I am greeted with no answer. The bathroom is what is to be considered the most grimy place you could imagine. Forget tombs or dumps, this place takes the cake. You could even say its been decades since this place has been cleaned. There's a haze in the air, laying heavily on me, and it seems to be suffocating me. But that's silly, its a bathroom, a moist, humid place. The haze is simply a fog. I scan the room once more, only to find something even more odd. A dish of what looks like watery oatmeal. I slowly approach it, and I find the smell intoxicating, rendering me unable to resist its pull. I struggle to walk slowly toward it, fighting the temptation to dive toward it. Eventually I can't resist, I leap for the bowl of deliciousness and stuff my face. When I finish, I feel warm, and I feel a strange itch on my forearm. The source of said itch is a fresh rune, clearly recently activated. It is one that I recognize, but I have no clue what it means. And frankly, I'm too tired to care. The world is hazy and spinning as I make my way to the strange knapsack in the corner, and I fall asleep before my head can hit the straw-filled pillow.

I come to in an admittedly extra disgusting bathroom, probably a gas station. I begin to panic, as I have never been here. Looking for an explanation from Will, I smack my head a few times with my palm. I only hear a soft whisper, which leads me to wonder if the fall I took a few hours, minutes? back hurt Will in some way. I call out for Will again, only to hear what seems to be a muffled scream. It may have been that, or just me, but this bowl of watery oatmeal just appeared, and it smells delicious. I'm being pulled toward it, and I eat it, naturally. And now I'm feeling very tired, so I go over to a knapsack I failed to notice earlier and I fall asleep. However, before I drift off, I finally hear Will screaming, "Don't eat the porridge!"

I come to in a disgusting bathroom and with a terrible headache. How far did I fall off the building? Is Will here? After a terrible pause I finally hear the familiar voice of my forced companion.

_Don't you dare eat the porridge, do whatever necessary, just don't eat it._

"What porridge? This is a bathroom for God's sake."

_The porridge that will come in about ten minutes, look at your left forearm._

I look down to see an unfamiliar rune, that I maybe recognize.

"What is it?"

_A special rune the Clave keeps to themselves:Compliance_

"Why would I have this on? Didn't we escape? Why else would we be in this bathroom?"

_This isn't a bathroom Xan. It's a prison?_

"How would you know that?"

_You have been in here for the past two years._

As Will says those words, I smell the most intoxicating smell coming from a small bowl of watery oatmeal.


End file.
